CAGUAS, Puerto RicoThis mountainside town is home to a picturesque cathedral, a tobacco museum and a Wal-Mart Supercenter. Another defining feature: Caguas's 00725 zip code has more people who receive a disability check than any other in the U.S.

Puerto Rico has emerged in recent years as one of the easiest places in the U.S. to get payments from the Social Security Disability Insurance program, created during the Eisenhower administration to help people who can't work because of a health problem. In 2010, 63% of applicants there won approval, four percentage points higher than New Jersey and Wyoming, the most-generous U.S. states. In fact, nine of the top 10 U.S. zip codes for disabled workers receiving benefits can be found on Puerto Rico.

The SSDI is set to soon become the first big federal benefit program to run out of cashand one of the main reasons is U.S. states and territories have a large say in who qualifies for the federally funded program. Without changes, the Social Security retirement fund can survive intact through about 2040 and Medicare through 2029. The disability fund, however, will run dry in four to seven years without federal intervention, government auditors say.

In addition to the uneven selection process, SSDI has been pushed to the brink of insolvency by the sour economy. A huge wave of applicants joined the program over the past decade, boosting it from 6.6 million beneficiaries in 2000 to 10.2 million in 2010. New recipients have come from across the country, with an 85% increase in Texas over 10 years and a 69% increase in New Hampshire.

Over the years, Puerto Rico's dependence on SSDI has grown particularly stark, exacerbated by the closure of factories and U.S. military installations, an exodus of skilled workers and a number of corruption scandals.

It does seem to be very easy to get in some states. I remember that when I lived in California, I was always running into perfectly healthy-looking, active people on SSDI or SSI who boasted about how they had gotten it. One woman told me that she merely said that working gave her migraines. I kid you not.

Welfare that lasts forever! Its common that welfare bums switch to SSI because it never ends. I remember a story about a mother in Arkansas about a decade ago who signed up fue to depression, and her 5 kids slid in with ADD. This woman ended up collecting $62,000/yr in a city where the average worker earned $14K/yr.
I have heard NO so called Conservative talk about reforming this lame brained program. Of course this comes from the same crop of so called conservatives watch several presidents bomb foreign nations without any regard to the constitutional vaildity of their act.
Notice how damn quiet the new tea party members of congress have been lately?

I pray for this Country daily, the level of situational blindness shown by the SO CALLED CONSERVATIVES is shocking. I understood the libtards were insane, but the fox is guarding the hen house...
(Climbing off soapbox and going to work to pay for this mess)

Without changes, the Social Security retirement fund can survive intact through about 2040 and Medicare through 2029.

Nonsense. They are both pay as you go programs and they are in the red now. The trust funds for these programs represent an unfunded liability, which is why they are included in the national debt of $14.3 trillion.

As a new nurse, seeing all the YOUNG people in the hospital on disability was a shocker. Young, able bodied . ..definitely able to walk, talk, etc. On disability for chronic pain, or “arthritis” or some damn thing. Most were a bunch of lazy drug seekers, flying frequently to the hospital for the nuttiest of complaints. It’s VERY common.

I was married to a native of Arecibo for 23 years and visited the island many times.

I was always shocked to see so many apparently able-bodied adults under retirement age who were not employed yet living well. The reason I was given? They get “a check.” And the inevitable “cupones”(food stamps).

I’d just like to know why there is a different standard for a non-federal income tax paying territory than for the rest of the country.

A lot of alcoholics and/or druggies are on SSD also because surprise, it’s all claimed as a disease/disability. We have a number of them on SSD here in my town. They use it along with Medicaid, Section 8 and food stamps or whatever else they can con to lead a pretty good life as far as not having to clean up and get a job.

So what you have is basically government as the enabler to addictive behavior. The taxpayer gets to subsidize addiction.

I would be willing to bet that 60-70% of the Medicaid recipients in my area have a substance abuse problem. I know of one guy (alcoholic) who has been on Medicaid for 20+ years. He is now into his 60’s.

All recipients of any kind of public assistance should be drug and alcohol screened. If positive, they don’t get it and are offered treatment. No treatment, no assistance. Once they are clean and continuing to be sober most of them would be able to work anyway and wouldn’t need any public assistance.

You have government enabling societal drop outs.

26
posted on 03/22/2011 7:35:34 AM PDT
by headstamp 2
(The most dangerous place on the face of the earth is between a liberal and their money.)

There was a young, overweight man on Hoarders who lived on a disability check. He didn’t look or act disabled, nor did he fit the profile of a real hoarder, just lazy. For instance, his apartment was littered with pizza boxes and fast food wrappers. He had dirty clothes everywhere. His bathroom was filthy, like he had an ‘accident’ and didn’t clean up. Just filthy, piles of actual trash, not junky stuff. He was more than willing to let the Hoarder crew clean up his place.

A three-part Boston Globe series The Other Welfare, showed how the SSI program, created in 1972 for children with severe physical disabilities, now serves largely those diagnosed with behavioral, learning, and mental disorders. Of the 1.2 million low-income children who receive SSI benefits, 53 percent, or 640,000, qualify because of mental disabilities, up from 8 percent in 1990.

By significant margins, delayed speech and ADD hyperactivity disorder were top reasons children received benefits, including Medicaid coverage and $700 a month cash.

The Govt Accountability Office will investigate SSI payments for kids behavioral and mental issues...... and whether low-income (illegal) families are putting their youngsters on psychiatric drugs to fake ADD and other conditions as the way to improve their chances of qualifying. Investigators are to examine whether the SS Administration can effectively screen new recipients and adequately determine when mental conditions have improved to the point that they are no longer eligible for benefits.

=============================================

Illegals NEVER paid a buck into SS........but are sucking up our tax dollars. Two illegal SS scams: (1) They claim asylum from Mexicos phony drug wars and collect $1200 per month forever. (2) Illegals get their kids to fake ADD.

RIDING THE US GRAVY TRAIN An illegal alien w/ wife and five children violates our borders. He gets a job mowing lawns for $5.00 or 6.00/hour. At that low wage, with six dependents, he pays no income tax, so each year, he files an Income Tax Return to get "EITC---earned income credit" of up to $3,200 scot-free. He qualifies for Section 8 housing and subsidized rent. He qualifies for food stamps and no deductible, no co-pay free health care. His children get free school breakfasts and lunches. The kids qualify for monthly SSI checks, faking ADD; the illegal and his wife get SSI if they fake being aged, blind or disabled; SSI qualifies them for Medicare. Plus illegals don't worry about pricey items like car insurance, life insurance, or homeowners insurance, and qualifies for relief from high energy bills.

ALL OF THAT IS COLLECTED WITH JUST ONE IDENTITY Evidence shows illegals establish several identities with phony SS nos and fake documents (which these "impoverished immigrants" buy from document brokers for several thousand dollars).

30
posted on 03/22/2011 8:16:20 AM PDT
by Liz
(A taxpayer voting for Obama is like a chicken voting for Col Sanders.)

This is truly the first time I hear it was that bad. Let me see what the local reaction to this is. In the meantime, there are over 15,000 lawyers on the island, most of them with plenty of time on their hands to cook up claims. I do hear a lot of advertisements for SS disability claim assistance.

Puerto Rico Ping! Please Freepmail me if you want on or off the list.

32
posted on 03/22/2011 8:19:15 AM PDT
by cll
(I am the warrant and the sanction)

Ya know, I had a bad case of pneumonia about 2 years ago. I have a brand new, shiny set of pneumonia scars in my lungs, asthma and sleep apnea.

All my doctoring has been done at the VA hospital, including that bout of pneumonia. So the US Govt knows more than anyone in the world about the state of my health.

And it STILL took me over 6 months and half a dozen doctor's scrutiny's to get SSDI. It's like the US govt didn't believe the US govt on the status of my lungs.

Then to top it off, Congress passed a law, mandating that anyone that's disabled and tries to get on the program, has to wait 6 months before any payments start. Suppose Congress-demons have to wait 6 months before they can start to collect their salaries? Yeah, sure. MOre of their do as I say, don't do as I do.

I have a 9-year-old daughter who has a developmental delay. She can’t talk, isn’t potty-traind (Lord knows, we’ve tried), and it’s not likely that she will ever get better. We get an SSI check for her and her upkeep.

I guaran-damn-tee you I am a hard-working individual who is quite thankful that we receive this small assistance. it sickens me to no end when I read about those who abuse the system because it makes it that much harder on those of us who do not. Believe me...no one wants to see the system cleaned up more than I do.

The problem is that you can’t “clean up the system” without reformatting human nature. “It’s not a bug, it’s a feature,” as the saying goes. When you pay for something, - whether it’s disability, unmarried parenthood, or being a victimized black “farmer,” - you’re going to create more of whatever makes money.

The only system that would fundamentally reduce the incidence of fraud would be one in which people spent their own money to help those they judged to be truly in need. And before you say nobody would do that, of course they do, with their friends, relatives, neighbors, church congregations, and people they never met in countries without flush toilets. All the time. Billions.

The dirty little secret is tons of legal immigrants get on SSD as soon as they can. Word is out in foreign countries. One common example is a legal Chinese immigrant applies for his parents to come over here. They get here and apply for SSD or SSDI and get it because they are old and have “something” wrong with them. They really have come here to retire. They have zero work history in America and have paid zero taxes here. So they finagle a way to get SSI. Free medical (via Medicare) and subsidized housing

41
posted on 03/22/2011 10:33:27 AM PDT
by dennisw
( The early bird catches the worm)

I was acquainted with a woman who had been disabled for over ten years due to the stress of commuting from Fredericksburg, Virginia to Washington DC (60 miles). I’ve been doing it for longer than she’d been disabled by it.

In the ‘70’s, the Puerto Ricans who talked to me about it thaought that the liberal benefits were Cold War related. I.e., buy off the island’s poor and not have to worry about “barbudos” roaming around in the mountains trying to do Cuba redux.

Maybe part of it but naked corruption is an easier explanation to make.

The Democrat congress passed a bill designed to do pretty much that. Only “Shiite” is the outcome they want. They are drooling over the prospect of a half dozen morre screaming liberals in Congress if PR goes for statehood.

Of course, there is a relatively conservative PNP governor in San Juan right now but he is a rare exception.

I have a neighbor that has been scamming the system for years. She hired a lawyer and convinced a judge she had undiagnosed pain that prevented her from working.

The pain however does not prevent her from walking the dog, playing tennis, or riding her bike.

With the help of a lawyer, it's all about what the definition of "is", is.

Walking the dog, and playing tennis, and riding the bike, are not "work". Those are leisure activities, and home duties. They are not the type of "work" that cause her undiagnosed pain. She very likely gets her "undiagnosed" pain when she does "real" work.

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